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Majority of Russians consider Victory Day year’s biggest holiday, poll reveals

Since 2018, May 9 has topped the ranking of important holidays for Russians, ahead of New Year's Day and Easter

MOSCOW, May 7. /TASS/. The majority of Russian nationals (61%) view Victory Day as the year’s most important holiday, says a poll from the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) published on the organization’s website.

"Today, the majority of Russians (61%) consider Victory Day to be the most important holiday [of the year]. Since 2018, May 9 has topped the ranking of important holidays for Russians, ahead of New Year's Day and Easter. However, in recent years, the importance of this date has been declining (2018, 2020 - 71% each, 2021 - 69%, 2022 - 67%, 2023 - 65%)," the survey results say.

Researchers note that global events such as the pandemic, the special military operation, as well holiday parades and processions of the Immortal Regiment being canceled due to security concerns were possible reasons for the decline in the indicators. That said, nine out of ten Russians say the Great Patriotic War is still a topic of conversation in their family, with these figures increasing every year (2018 - 81%, 2024 - 89%). Almost half of Russians (45%) know a great deal about relatives who participated in the Great Patriotic War from family stories and records. Every third respondent (33%) knows only that a family member took part in World War II, without any specifics.

The survey results show a gradual change in attitudes toward Victory Day in the country. Over the past two decades, Russians have begun to speak more often about Victory Day as a day of remembrance and sorrow; today a quarter of respondents (25%) view it as such. However, the majority of Russians (67%) still perceive May 9 as a holiday.

Respondents most often tell their children or grandchildren about the exploits of their relatives during the Great Patriotic War (15%), the history of the war and victory (10%), the heroism and feats of the defenders of the homeland (13%), the role of patriotism (6%), hard times for people (5%), war victims (4%), fascism (3%) and other horrors of war (2%).

The All-Russian Internet poll was conducted on April 27, 2024. It polled 1,600 Russians aged 18 years and older. The margin of error does not exceed 2.5% with a probability of 95%.

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